Protect women

By STATE REP. DAN FRANKEL

Friday

May 27, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Don't close law-abiding clinics

This past week, my House colleagues passed legislation in response to the terrible atrocities that authorities allege occurred in Kermit Gosnell's abortion clinic in Philadelphia. The Senate could consider similar legislation as soon as May 23. Certainly, the fact that it took so long to close the Gosnell clinic is a clear indictment of the state Department of Health's previous policy on inspections.

But we've been so focused on the atrocities that we've failed to direct our attention to the right place - the bill itself. Good policy shouldn't be measured by how large the original problem was, but rather by whether or not the legislation actually fixes it. Unfortunately, that's where House Bill 574 fails miserably.

So what would House Bill 574 actually do?

It would mandate many technical changes to the physical structures of abortion clinics:

n Instead of rooms sized at 150 square feet, they would instead have to be between 250 to 400 square feet.

n It would require that the heating, air conditioning and ventilating equipment work at above a specific velocity.

n And it mandates that they install "hospital type elevators," which means they must be able to bear at least 3,500 pounds. That's the weight of the Chevy Volt electric car.

But the size of rooms, speed of air flow and type of elevators were not the problem with the Gosnell clinic. Instead, as the indictment alleges, the problem was a man violating our laws, shamelessly, for years. If Gosnell's clinic had a larger elevator, it wouldn't have changed his ability to prey ruthlessly on vulnerable women. If his operating rooms were more expansive, it wouldn't have made him follow the strict laws of the abortion control act, which make it a crime to terminate a pregnancy at or after 24 weeks.

House Bill 574 wouldn't have put Gosnell out of business. Only inspections from the state Department of Health can do that.

But the bill would put out of business those organizations whose missions are to care for women in need, and who have scrupulously followed our existing laws for decades.

These clinics would be required to completely renovate, or move - a process that can take a year and a half or more - in only two months. They'd be required to hire a full-time nurse, who'd be paid even for those days when no patient would be receiving surgery.

Many clinics will simply shut down rather than comply. In Texas, when similar regulations were put in place, it took time for providers to come into compliance. After several years, only 20 percent had become licensed. And those clinics that can afford to make the changes will charge more - upwards of $1,000 more for a procedure.

And that's the real problem. Instead of helping us pursue criminals, this legislation would only drive women into criminal clinics. Poor women chose to see Gosnell because he was cheap.

If our best providers are too expensive, supporters of the bill would create a dangerous vacuum that will only create demand for more Gosnells.

If that happens, it's an indictment on the legislature, and it's downright terrifying.

Our Department of Health is moving in the right direction - conducting regular on-site inspections of health centers where abortions are performed. Since the revelations about Gosnell's clinic surfaced, each clinic has been inspected, and some have been inspected many times. The Department of Health has created a complaint process, with automatic inspections after every complaint. Inspectors are now monitoring our clinics carefully, citing even small violations - paper towels put in the wrong place, fire extinguisher in the incorrect container or signatures on the wrong page. Thankfully, even with all the current oversight, they haven't found any violations that would have harmed women's health.

Any legislation to resolve the failure that allowed Gosnell to practice for so long must actually prevent another Gosnell. The women of Pennsylvania rightly demand that of us. And it's not impossible.

We could write in statute that the Health Department must inspect clinics annually.

And we could allow for a system for anonymous tips to the Health Department, so that patients or staff can alert us to clinics violating the law.

What we shouldn't do is make the situation worse. And I'm very much afraid that's what we can expect, should H.B. 574 become law.

State Rep. Dan Frankel (www.pahouse.com/Frankel), a Democrat, represents the 23rd Legislative District in Pittsburgh.

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